Wizards at Rockets
The Washington Wizards were supposed to take another step forward this season but have instead fallen off the pace and are currently outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards held a players-only meeting after their latest loss and hope to turn things around when they begin a rough three-game stretch by visiting the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Washington followed up a four-game winning streak by dropping five of six and now has to face the Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors in the next three games. "It's kind of similar to the past years,” Wizards guard Bradley Beal told reporters. “We've been through the same thing. It always takes a team meeting or two to figure it out, but we're at the point now where we know what we need to do.” The Rockets, like Washington, are not exactly thriving on the defensive end and have allowed an average of 117.4 points in the last seven games. Houston endured one of the roughest two-game stretches on the NBA schedule by suffering losses at San Antonio and Oklahoma City in the last two contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (20-24): The team highlighted its lack of defense in the meeting, with Jared Dudley pointing out Washington’s trouble defending the 3-point line and issues with turnovers. "It's nothing offensively," All-Star guard John Wall bluntly told reporters. "We just can't guard a soul." The Wizards allowed an average of 113.2 points allowed in their last five losses and let the Denver Nuggets shoot 50.6 percent from the field and 9-of-18 from 3-point range in a 117-113 loss on Thursday.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (25-24): James Harden shredded the Washington defense for 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a 109-103 win on Dec. 9, and led the way with 33 points in Friday’s 116-108 loss at Oklahoma City. Despite Harden’s output, Houston shot 37.9 percent from the field in the loss after managing 38.4 percent in the 130-99 setback at San Antonio on Wednesday. The Rockets had center Dwight Howard (ankle) back for each of those two losses after a three-game absence but got only 21 minutes out of the big man on Friday before he was ejected for drawing a second technical foul.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Beal (broken nose, concussion) played while wearing a mask on Thursday and scored 17 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
2. Rockets SG Corey Brewer is 2-of-17 from 3-point range in the last five games.
3. Houston has taken four of the last five in the series.